Singapore is Asia Pacific Region’s Most Liveable City for Asian Expats, and tops in Peacefulness 2nd to New Zealand, + the Most Expensive City Globally tied with Zurich in 2023.
Photograph: Mike Enerio/Unsplash
Based on the recent ECA International global mobility research report, Singapore ticks all the boxes for Asian Expats returning to Asia based on Safety, Peace and Convenience.
ECA assessed more than 500 locations across the globe, looking at quality of living factors like healthcare access, housing and utilities, climate, and personal safety. While Singapore is tops, the study found that Southeast Asia is becoming more attractive to live in across the board, with significant improvements in transport infrastructure, health services, and recreational facilities. Notable cities include Jakarta (213th to 196th), Phnom Penh (200th to 184th) and Hanoi (160th to 144th).
Looking at the wider Asian region, mainland Chinese cities have also been steadily climbing the rankings over the past 10 years. Expatriates in cities like Shenzhen, Xi’an, and Wuhan now enjoy better transport infrastructure and international schooling options compared to the previous decade. Some challenges remain though, such as pollution, censorship, and poor healthcare facilities.
Got your sights set beyond Asia? Your next best bet is a city in New Zealand and Australia – more specifically, Wellington or Adelaide, which are joint second place alongside Tokyo. Eindhoven in the Netherlands is the highest-ranked European city (7th), while Vancouver, Canada trumps in North America (23rd).
Here are the top 10 most liveable cities for Asian expatriates:
- Singapore
- Tokyo, Japan
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Adelaide, Australia
- Brisbane, Australia
- Osaka, Japan
- Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Yokohama, Japan
- Sydney, Australia
- Bern, Switzerland
According to Global Peace Index, Singapore has been named the 6th most peaceful country in the world – coming in at 2nd place in the Asia-Pacific region.
Australian, Steve Killelea A.M., established the Global Peace Index, which is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness – as well as the independent think tank Institute for Economics and Peace.
The Global Peace Index (GPI) 2023 report, Singapore has been named the sixth most peaceful country in the world – improvement from last year, where Singapore came in ninth – and 2nd in the Asia-Pacific Region with New Zealand holding the crown, followed by Singapore, and then Japan.
The GPI takes into consideration 163 countries worldwide, which is essentially 99.7 percent of the world’s population. The index measures the level of peacefulness across three main factors: the level of Societal Safety and Security; the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict; and the degree of Militarisation.
The Asia-Pacific region, it is worth noting that there has been a slight increase of 0.32 percent in the level of peacefulness in this year’s GPI. The uptick in peacefulness is a result of improvements in both safety and security, as well as reduced militarisation. This positive shift can be attributed to factors such as a decrease in violent demonstrations and an increase in funding for UN peacekeeping efforts.
Worldwide Cost of Living 2023
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Worlwide Cost of Living Report 2023, Singapore for the ninth time in eleven consecutive years is the most expensive – this year tying with Zurich (Switzerland).
The prices of over 200 commonly used goods and services have risen by 7.4 percent globally in local-currency terms over the past year.
Read More on the Worldwide Cost of Living stats HERE>>
